A setter and fixture can look like a small part of a battery sintering setup. But when the sintered material comes out with unexpected residue, sticking, or surface contamination, the setter is often one of the first things worth checking.
The right setter material is one approach being considered by battery production. Boron Nitride Ceramics are particularly interesting for applications where contact contamination and sticking are concerns.
BN has good high-temperature stability and a low-wetting surface. Compared with some conventional ceramic setter materials, BN can provide a less reactive contact surface for certain high-temperature processes. This can make it easier to separate the sintered material from the setter and reduce residual material left on the setter surface.
Of course, BN is not a universal solution for every battery material. The actual performance depends heavily on the process conditions. Sintering temperature, atmosphere, heating rate, holding time, material composition, and the number of thermal cycles can all influence the result.
The setter itself also needs to match your equipment. Thickness, flatness, dimensions, surface finish, density, and BN purity are important when moving from a laboratory trial to repeated production. For this reason, we normally recommend starting with a sample rather than changing the entire setter system at once.
For developers of solid-state lithium-metal batteries, BN setters may be worth considering when the current setter is causing contamination, sticking, or cleaning problems. The right BN grade and surface condition can then be selected around the actual process rather than using a one-size-fits-all specification.
We manufacture BN ceramic setters in customized sizes and configurations for high-temperature applications. If setter contamination has become an issue in your sintering process, we can review the operating temperature, atmosphere, material being sintered, and setter dimensions to discuss a suitable BN option.
If you have any setter plate questions for your application, please contact Innovacera’s engineering team at sales@innovacera.com for support.
